


when it rains moonlight

by averyblue



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Humor, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mentions of other artists, Pining, ft. floorbread, merman!wonho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 15:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19112833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averyblue/pseuds/averyblue
Summary: Before the third full moon reaches its zenith, you must receive the ultimate act of love from the one your heart yearns for."How will I know if he loves me back?"He would follow you into the waves and give his last breath for you.





	when it rains moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluemoonrabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoonrabbit/gifts).



> for my friend and one of my favorite wonkyun writers, this is a gift for enduring hard times and also a thank you for being such a positive presence for me and for many others 💜
> 
> this fic is inspired by these pictures: [1](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8IAlpYUYAABDed.jpg), [2](https://i.imgur.com/S3sppAb.jpg)
> 
> and a special thank you to my genius friend [yawawoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawawoo/) for helping me with so many details in this fic!

_And so he asked, “If my mother were never to speak again, how would this fare the country?”_

_The old witch waved her hands in front of the glowing crystal ball, unveiling the image of buildings in ruin amidst silver misty smoke. Coree’s eyes widened in fear as he watched the enormous abomination of scale and scab devour the streets of his home. If illusions could speak, the screams of people running in terror would echo from the glass artifact._

_“Only your mother’s voice will make the Demiurge relinquish its destruction.”_

_“But why?” Coree asked. Even a young boy such as he knew a heavy curse didn’t befit a mundane request. All he wanted was to hear his mother’s voice again._

 

“Because a voice unheard is a force to be reckoned with,” Changkyun reads, voice low and soft, as his fingers play with the edge of the yellowed page. The illustration below the paragraph is drawn beautifully and eerily, one of a small child on his tiptoes staring at a ball that projects a shadow of an amorphous evil. It leaves said evil up to the reader’s imagination, and Changkyun has always imagined it to be a gigantic starfish slithering on the fictional country with its tentacles. His mother has said it appears as a giant snake or snail for her, amused that Changkyun’s imagination runs miles ahead on creativity and complexity for his age.

That has been years ago. Changkyun looks up at the navy blanket of stars above and smiles.

He takes in the fresh air with one slow inhale, enchanted with the faint briny scent of the sea breeze. It’s much better and so much fresher than he has imagined it to be days ago after buying his ticket for this trip. And what better way to relish in it than with his favorite book?

At the distance, acoustic tunes play from gentle guitar strums and lively beats on a barrel drum with other passengers dancing along merrily. Changkyun laughs as he imagines what his younger cousin will have to say if he can see Changkyun spend the night reading instead of staring at the open waters’ beauty, if not mingling with others. But really, the whole point of this trip is for him to relax just right before summer begins and his workload chunks to double. Woong has told Changkyun to at least write him a letter or start journaling instead of reading on the boat if he can, _you reread it at least two times a year anyway_.

Perhaps tomorrow is a better day to journal, Changkyun thinks, since he still doesn’t have anything interesting to note tonight. His destination will be chock-full of new experiences, from the seafood dishes to the mountainside views, and from searching for a good number of flora and fauna his father has studied back when he’s still an active scientist. To add more knowledge in his father’s research notes, as he has promised, until Changkyun can potentially publish it into a book worthy of a place in the Royal Library’s shelves.

He glances back down on the open pages, running a finger down the thick worn-out spine of _Harrow’s Fairy Tales_ before flipping to the last page of the book. A picture from six years ago is adhered firmly, showing fourteen year-old Changkyun being embraced by both his parents. He chuckles to himself, amazed that he’s managed such a big smile back then. Things have changed since then, with his mother passing a year after the picture was taken, him finishing his studies three years after and earning the title of _Scholar_ , his father passing months after Changkyun landed a job in the Royal Library, and Changkyun living self-reliantly ever since. He can’t deny how much he misses them, but he thinks of the brighter side of the present. His parents would be proud of him for making it this far all by himself, for keeping himself strong-willed all these years.

“Wish you could see me now,” he whispers with solemnity, the corners of his lips only curling up slightly. But dwelling on wishes doesn’t do one good, and he decides to tug the purple ribbon bookmark back to the page he has left off. The night is young, the breeze is cool, and the moonlight is bright, illuminating the pages just enough for Changkyun to read in comfort.

But said comfort only lasts for half an hour, however, with more people starting to cram the front deck for evening cocktails and boisterous dancing. More waiters start making rounds as well, circulating the open premises to serve or entertain passengers’ meal-related requests. He appreciates their politeness when they pass by him, but repeated reading interruptions matched with increasing chatters and musical instruments have convinced Changkyun it’s his time to retire to his quarters.  

He hangs his reading glasses on the collar of his shirt, tucking the book close to his hip as he maneuvers through the crowded path to the lower deck entrance. He squeezes and ducks between conversations while soft murmurs of _excuse me_ leave his lips, obviously unheard by surrounding ears yet still said out of politeness. He takes a deep breath as he stumbles towards the wooden door frame near the stairs and shakes his head – _note to self: take the morning ferries next time._

Thankfully his sleeping quarters are just three doors down the hallway dimly lit by small glass fixtures on the wall sheltering candlefire. He quickly changes into his night clothes and bundles himself inside the thick blanket provided to each room, nestling cozily against the wall just below the wide glass window. Shutting the door only dampens songs and footsteps from outside, but Changkyun thinks his present privacy is much better. The moonlight still shines through the glass, luminescent enough for the young man’s reading pursuits.

Pushing his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose, Changkyun flips the pages to where he has left off in the story titled  _To Speak Again_. He steps back into the shoes of a young boy named Coree who calls his mother to speak again by standing in front of the giant monster, inciting her panic-induced cries from almost having her son engulfed by a behemoth. It’s followed by a plethora of others, such as a rivalry to friendship in  _Mister Toad, Sir Frog, and A White Sock_ , a train ride of a middle-class passenger shedding social ignorance in  _The Sheltered’s Journey_ , and a blossoming romance that ends with letting go in  _Until the Hummingbird’s Last Hum_.

One of Changkyun’s favorite stories in the book is _The_ _Woodsman and The Beast_ , a tale of a father who overcomes deception to save his daughter. He takes his time with this one compared to the previous stories, engaging in the suspense and somberness of it. The woodsman, desperate to save his dying daughter, makes a deal with the shadowy Beast who lends him a lantern and tells him to keep the fire within it burning to sustain his daughter’s lost soul. He only learns from another child being stalked by the creature that the lantern carries the Beast’s soul instead. He blows the flame despite his uncertainty, in order to save the young boy, and it brings back his daughter and the hundreds of children the Beast stole souls from.

Rereading it, Changkyun muses at how it’s this very story that has driven parents and other folks away from purchasing _Harrow’s Fairy Tales_. The imagery is dark, exemplified perfectly with its narration of growing hopelessness in a haunting place, but the people have assumed too much to know it’s still written whimsically enough for a child to appreciate. In fact, every story of the book is embedded with moral stories everyone needs to learn at one point in their lives, with challenging situations and multifaceted characters. Changkyun’s thankful his parents have gifted him a literary treasure trove to grow up with.

He continues reading more fantastical tales until slumber slowly weighs his eyelids down, his back slumped against the wall while his hands rest below a drawing of a half-woman, half-fish.

 

* * *

 

Light sleeper that he is, Changkyun is startled awake by a succession of panicked screams. He rubs an eye groggily and tucks his glasses on his shirt as he unwraps himself from the snug warmth of the blanket,  pushed into urgency when his feet hit the cold touch of–

“Water?” he shout-whispers, _the boat isn’t supposed to be leaky._ Loud bangs against the walls and echoing footsteps force his body to move in autopilot as his mind tries to process the situation, his sole act to grab his book before reaching for the door.

He’s greeted by a throng of passengers stomping and pushing and shrieking to the direction of the upper deck. Changkyun waits for an opening to worm behind the running crowd, colliding back-first against another person just when he’s thought everyone on the floor has left already. “Fucking move!” is hissed scornfully right at his ear, and Changkyun obliges with narrowed eyes and steps forward as fast as he can.

Thunder claps as he steps out, heavy raindrops thudding on his head and sliding down his hair. He flinches at the brief strike of lightning visible from the distance, illuminating the mountaintops of their destination still too far away. The other passengers are huddled up in bunches and chattering, yelling, _worrying_ , it’s all too much for Changkyun to bear. He steps away from the entrance to the lower deck, hearing children’s stressed cries and mothers’ hushing reassurances, and older men’s shallow complaints or fatalistic remarks. His bare feet carry him towards the north of the boat, hoping there’s a free crew member who can inform him of what’s happening. (And if possible, calm down everyone in the process too.)

But Changkyun can only guess as the storm brews into a frenzy, the winds blowing even stronger that the sails start pushing the boat off-course. The weather experts back home have said the day is good for a trip, and the night skies dusted with stars have been pristine of clouds just hours ago. But the time Changkyun has spent asleep must’ve been enough for rain to thrash water down to the lower levels of the boat, enough to stir panic through assumptions that the ship might be sinking.

More and more people start hustling in front of him, voices drowning out the sound of roaring waves crashing against the boat. Changkyun forces himself to push past them, holding his book tightly and close to his chest. He can hear someone speaking with the loudest voice they could manage, saying words such as _stabilize sails_ , _smaller boats, children first_ ;  he’s unsure if they’re going to be unloaded from the ship slowly, given that the waves rising halfway the ship’s tallest spar makes it too dangerous a plan. More of the announcement falters from his earshot, masked by another boom of thunder and the howls of wind carrying fearful shouts. Changkyun vaguely hears, “Please, please calm down!” before being swept backwards, almost stumbling on his own feet when other passengers push him and each other away from the center of the deck.

A tinning crackle of thunder, a blinding flash of lightning, more piercing cries – Changkyun can barely breathe anymore as his shoulders collide with a seemingly endless number of moving bodies. His limbs are also shivering from the cold rain and his lungs are hyperventilating from the thick humid air, but he keeps shoving with what draining energy he has just to escape. He sees a slither of space to freedom from the crowd, finally impatient to grunt, “Excuse me!” until he trips onto the wooden floor, his book sliding from his grasp. He crawls forward, snatching his book and quickly scrambles onto his feet to move away from the ensuing hysteria.

The boat sways further, tilting off axis with every hit of the angered sea, and Changkyun struggles with every step to maintain his balance and keep away from any other running passengers. He isn’t so much afraid of what’s happening, aware he’ll manage to be safe as long as he makes it to the center of the boat, but the heightened dread of everyone else is hammering trepidation onto his chest. _Can’t they just calm down?_ He can even spot some members of the crew grip and pull on the ropes of the sails the best they can to keep the ship from rocking.

Suddenly, the floor beneath his feet jolts upwards, followed by a low rumble from below and the unmistakable sound of wood crashing against a firmer solid surface. Changkyun’s breaths pace faster, eyebrows knitting together at the sight of parents holding their children close or gripping their hands tightly and begging not to let go. The rest try to race towards the other end of the boat, hoping to escape the possibility of falling off. Another forceful bump sends the ship dipping forward and scoops waves of the angered sea into flooding the deck, propelling Changkyun back into the panicking crowd. Screams of horror ring louder than thunder as the boat tips at a wider angle, sending the people closest to the edge hanging onto rope and thread with terror-stricken eyes.

Everything is a dark blur now, with Changkyun too disoriented to process where or how he’s moving around anymore. He gets pulled around, he can’t tell what direction anymore, and a painful shove sends him crashing against the ship edge. He groans in pain, curling into himself as he stares at the dark clouds looming above.

And slowly, the clouds vanish behind a towering wave. Changkyun takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes until the forceful impact of the freezing water flings him off the wooden surface. With his heartbeats thrumming like drums in his ears, he lets himself yell out a cry for help before the burning coldness of the sea engulfs him down into its depths.

The water slowly pricks his throat with stolen breaths and stings his eyes with its brine. He kicks his feet and moves an arm, clutching his book with the other, in hopes he can pull himself to the surface. But the sea seems persistent in keeping him below as more waves break above him and force him down.

His vision slowly dims, hearing completely consumed by swooshing waters, grip around his book loosening, and he manages a bittersweet smile with his one last thought. _I’ll be with you soon, Eomma, Appa._

The last thing he remembers coherently is the book of his childhood drifting away. And maybe it’s just the figment of a dying man’s fading senses or perhaps angels really do exist – Changkyun’s dreary mind is too far gone to concentrate anymore – when a blurry face masked with golden hair appears before his sight blacks out.

_Stay with me._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! :') more longer chapters coming soon :D
> 
> twt: hojjangkyun


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